Beach and lawn chairs adapted to be folded for transportation and/or storage typically have a frame fabricated from elongated structural members, preferably metal. The frames of such chairs have transversely spaced apart left hand and right hand frame side assemblies that are substantially parallel to each other. In a set-up position, each side frame assembly has a front leg member extending in a generally vertically upward direction and a rear leg member pivotally connected at its upper end directly or indirectly to an upper end of the front leg member and which is rearwardly and downwardly inclined from the upper end of the front leg member. Such frames also include an upwardly extending chair back support member which is or may be pivotally connected at its lower end to the rear leg member intermediate the ends of the rear leg member by an over-the-center linkage that positions the back support member so that it is supported at its lower end on the rear leg member and inclined upwardly and rearwardly therefrom when the chair is unfolded from its closed or flatly folded storage position to its open or set-up position for use.
Such conventional beach and lawn chairs of the prior art having the left hand and right hand frame side assemblies such as hereinbefore generally described also commonly have transversely extending rigid connecting members providing fixed connection between the front leg members, the rear leg members, and often the back support members as well. Additional rigidly fixed transverse connecting members may also extend between the structural members that support the seat of such a chair. The aforesaid rigid or noncollapsible transversely extending connecting members are generally horizontally disposed when such a conventional prior art chair is in its set-up position. Thus, it should be immediately apparent that conventional folding chairs of a prior art type as hereinbefore described are foldable to only one storage and/or transport position, namely a flatly folded position.
Such prior art chairs provide the convenience of easy fold-up, and are lightweight so as to permit easy transportability. Common uses for such chairs are at the beach or at a picnic where easy set-up and break-down, as well as the ability to carry the chair along with other things, is desirable. However, even though such chairs are foldable for easy transport, they typically still cover a wide area and thus occupy a considerable space when folded, which makes packing or storing the chairs difficult, especially when they must be crammed into small a space, such as the trunk of a car, with a number of other objects such as a cooler, blankets and bags. That is, most prior art beach and lawn chairs are foldable only in one direction—typically front to back. For example, the back support and the seat support of the chair are folded towards each other so the frame, when folded, lies flat and has an essentially rectangular shape. When packing the folded chair into a car, the folded chair must be laid flat, thereby occupying a wide footprint.
Other chair designs have been developed that can be folded to a collapsed state occupying less storage space. For example, some chair designs can be folded in multiple directions, reducing the front/back and side-to-side dimensions between an unfolded set-up position and a folded storage position. However, these chair designs are typically not suitable for certain outdoor uses, such as at the beach or at a picnic, where a reclinable back rest may be desired.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a chair when in a set-up condition that can be collapsed in multiple directions in order to reduce the space occupied by the chair in a folded and completely collapsed condition. Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a chair design that overcomes problems and drawbacks associated with folding chairs, and therefore significantly improves the versatility of such a chair while permitting easy transportation and/or storage in a completely collapsed condition.
Moreover, there is a need for a reclinable and collapsible chair that can be easily folded by a user with minimal effort. Hereafter, reclinable chairs have not been able to be folded to a completely collapsed, bundled condition without much difficulty. Even where a reclinable chair can be so bundled, the final bundle does not fold to a sufficiently compressed size.